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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876404">you always said we'd still be friends</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphrasiepontmercy/pseuds/euphrasiepontmercy'>euphrasiepontmercy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>FTR: The Brat Pack, For the Record: The Brat Pack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Just a lot of emotions, angst and fluff and whatever, god i wish i could have seen this show live, i just really love 80s music okay, i will build this fandom up from the ground if i have to</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:49:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,036</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphrasiepontmercy/pseuds/euphrasiepontmercy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>disclaimer: I have never in my life seen pretty in pink (yes, I know, I have to and I really want to) but this is based off of that section of ftr; I'm aware that the show in itself is kind of a crossover fanfic, and the addition of this character doesn't completely make sense in the context, but this dialogue simply wouldn't leave my head so I just had to write it</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you always said we'd still be friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>there are so many fantastic casts for this show, but the actors I had in mind while writing this are Parissa Koo, Michael Thomas Grant, and Patrick Ortiz</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Her tears were bewildered, but silent.</p><p>She’d been at her locker, about to leave the school after a voice lesson, and the hallway had been quiet until she’d heard the voices of her two best friends. While listening to their argument, she’d closed her locker as quietly as possible, almost unable to believe what she was hearing.</p><p>“Maybe, for the first time in your life…”</p><p>
  <em> Don’t say it. Please, God, don’t let him say it. Not after all these years. </em>
</p><p>“...I won’t be there.”</p><p>Her heart was shattered by the tone in his voice, and she was frozen where she stood. He ran around the corner, hastily wiping his tears with his shirtsleeve, and stopped short when he saw her standing there with something in her eyes he’d never seen directed at him-hopelessness, anger, a sense of loss, a sense of <em> disappointment. </em>He tried to stutter out the beginning of a sentence.</p><p>“I-”</p><p>She ducked her head and walked to the intersection of the hallway, looking around the corner to see her friend still standing alone and staring after him. The princess’ eyes widened when she realized that their argument had been unintentionally overheard.</p><p>The musician stood at the end of the hallway, attempting to think of something to say to her friend, but the other girl looked at her with returned sympathy-<em> she knows how I felt, she’s always known </em>-and turned away. The click of her high heels echoed through the empty halls, and her friends stood silently as the door closed behind her.</p><p>The tension rose with every second that passed in painful quiet. The geek brought his hand to his face and took in a stilted, shaking breath.</p><p>“Why do you care-”</p><p>“Are you kidding?”</p><p>Her voice was unusually low and intense. He looked down at her, surprised, and she squarely met his gaze.</p><p>“You know, it’s...it is possible to be friends with someone you’re in love with. You do know that, right? It’s not against the law? You know that you don’t have to completely <em> ditch </em> someone just because they don’t feel the same way?”</p><p>“Look, I just don’t know if you get it-”</p><p>She couldn’t keep from laughing.</p><p>He looked at her, eyes widening with confusion and a touch of fear as she laughed almost hysterically and tears began to fall down her face.</p><p>“I-I’m sorry-it’s just-”</p><p>She tried desperately to pull herself together. It was a mistake, then, that she looked at his face; her chest caved in, a sob escaped her, and the words tumbled out, raw and desperately truthful.</p><p>“I have been in love with you for <em> years.” </em></p><p>He blinked, and his face moved as slowly as if he were in an old silent movie.</p><p>
  <em> Is it really that surprising? </em>
</p><p>She sighed.</p><p>“So, yes, I know how it feels. I know what it’s like to be close to someone, closer to them than to anyone else, be <em> right there </em> but <em> not quite. </em> I know what it is to watch them pine for someone who you <em> know </em> won’t appreciate them as they deserve. I know how it feels to fantasize about the day that they turn around and finally <em> see </em> you, to have been there for them through it all, but the difference is, I also know that <em> you don’t owe me anything.” </em></p><p>He had been standing absolutely still.</p><p>“And what...what does that mean?”</p><p>She shook her head slightly, as if it were obvious.</p><p>“You can’t manufacture an emotion. I learned that a long time ago; I realized that no matter what I do, if you don’t love me, that’s that, and it’s okay,” she said, and her voice cracked, betraying the thoughts that she’d tried to push down. “Ignore that, I mean it, it’s genuinely okay. She doesn’t owe you attraction or romantic love, just like you don’t owe that to me.”</p><p>His eyes darted as he took this in, and he spoke slowly.</p><p>“I know that. It’s just,” he confessed as he let out a breath for the first time that night, “it’s hard to be around someone when you’ve given everything to them and they’ll never…”</p><p>He couldn’t finish the sentence.</p><p>“Believe me, I know.”</p><p>They made eye contact, and a moment of silence passed before she took a breath and spoke again.</p><p>“That’s the thing, though. I love you, I want to be around you. We’ve had deep conversations, we’ve laughed, we have all of these inside jokes-I <em> know </em> you, I’m part of your life, and you’re part of mine,” she said, smiling through her fresh batch of tears. “That’s...all I could ever ask for. That has to be enough. And if you love her, <em> really </em> love her…”</p><p>She trailed off and started to collect her thoughts for the first time since she’d heard the beginning of the argument.</p><p>
  <em> This isn’t at all how I’d planned on telling him… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I’d never planned on telling him, had I? </em>
</p><p>He’d moved toward her, and she jumped backwards and to a conclusion.</p><p>“I don’t want to be a rebound.”</p><p>His eyes widened, and he stepped back.</p><p>“No, you wouldn’t-of course you wouldn’t be-”</p><p>“I’ve ruined it all, I know I have. How,” she almost whispered, “if you ever do say you feel the same way, how will I know whether it’s only because you couldn’t have her and you wanted someone who simply wanted you?”</p><p>Barely able to take the sight of the pain in his friend’s hazel eyes, he reached to take her hand in both of his.</p><p>“I wouldn’t...come on, you know I wouldn’t ever do that to you,” he promised tearfully as he looked straight at her and awkwardly let go of her hand. “In fact…”</p><p>He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair as something dawned on him that he hadn’t allowed to in years.</p><p>“You want the truth?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>He nodded, looking down and trying to make his thoughts form syllables.</p><p>“Freshman year...I felt more than I ever had. For you. I mean, I felt for you, not ‘more than I ever had’ for you-I don’t-I don’t know how to talk…”</p><p>Her shoulders fell, and her whole face felt like it was widening in hazy astonishment as he launched into a rant of things he’d never confessed.</p><p>“I was scared. Frankly, I was terrified, I didn’t want to risk what we had, so I channeled every bit of emotion into her until my infatuation became an obsession, maybe because I <em> knew </em> she’d never feel that way about me, and I <em> forced </em> myself not to see you that way until I’d completely forgotten that I ever did.”</p><p>She was shocked.</p><p>“So...we’ve both…”</p><p>He nodded, his hand on his neck, still looking down.</p><p>“...but now?”</p><p>He looked up.</p><p>“I don’t know.”</p><p>She couldn’t take the pain in his eyes anymore, a pain that was now doubled with confusion, a pain that came partly from her-</p><p>“Have a nice time at prom.”</p><p>He looked at her intently, a little ashamed that he’d never considered the question he was about to ask.</p><p>“Who are you going with?”</p><p>She let her arms fall to her sides.</p><p>“The rest of the show choir, just like every other school dance in every other year. It’s easier to go with friends, there’s less pressure,” she said decisively before taking a breath and speaking far more quietly, “at least, that’s what I keep telling myself, because at least it meant I got to spend time with you.”</p><p>
  <em> And now I’m crying again. Faaaaaantastic. </em>
</p><p>“I, um…”</p><p>She allowed herself to look up and straight into his eyes, an action she hadn’t often taken for fear of what the sweeping blue would do to her. Once she did, his mouth hung open, and he shook his head, dismissing the thought he’d begun. She nodded.</p><p>
  <em> There’s nothing left to say. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ...Even if there wasn’t, neither of us have a clue how to say it. </em>
</p><p>“Goodnight.”</p><p>She forced herself to turn away and walked through the hall in a daze.</p><p>
  <em> Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Whatever happens, do not look back or you know you’ll run straight to him. </em>
</p><p>The cold air hit her face and froze her tears as she pushed the double doors open, and she winced. As she walked to her car, she looked up at the starry indigo sky, and it sent her back to a currently <em> unwelcome </em> memory.</p><p>
  <em> A telescope on his roof. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Freshman year. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “God, look at that!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “...What?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Just…” she made a vague gesture, “...all of it.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He laughed, and she wouldn’t have been anywhere else for the world. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She dared to lean into his shoulder. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Warmth. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> That was the only word she could think of. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The night was freezing, sure, but his cardigan was warm and his smile was warm and the stars were bright and- </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -this must be what heaven feels like. </em>
</p><p>She was awoken from her trance of nostalgia by the rev of her engine starting up and the sudden awareness that tears had been streaming down her face.</p><p>
  <em> “...because I live to like you.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> For that? For nothing else? I’d understand if it wasn’t for me, but not even for a dream, not even for yourself? </em>
</p><p>The road was long and empty, and there were more stars than she’d ever seen. She sighed and took a breath, resolving to continue her mental address.</p><p>
  <em> Look, I don’t care whether you’re ever really mine. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Just don’t let me lose you. </em>
</p><p>----</p><p>Approximately twenty-six hours later, after dinner with a few friends, she pulled back into that same parking spot. She recognized the car next to hers as its owner stepped out, resplendent in pink.</p><p>Her breath caught.</p><p>
  <em> Admiration, awe, and just a speck of petty middle-school jealousy. </em>
</p><p>“...Hi.”</p><p>The princess looked at her friend blankly, trying to think of what to say, but she didn’t have to say anything before the musician spoke again.</p><p>“I’m sorry about yesterday.”</p><p>She shook her head.</p><p>“You have nothing to be sorry about at all; it’s not your fault that you heard the argument.”</p><p>The musician nodded and her shoulders relaxed; she couldn’t bear the thought of losing both of her best friends, and it was a relief to still know she had the understanding of one.</p><p>“I’m really glad you came.”</p><p>She raised her chin and smiled. At that moment, the way she carried herself and the way the streetlight hit her proved that she’d earned her nickname-she was <em> regal. </em></p><p>“That’s what I said. I wanted to show them they didn’t break me.”</p><p>The taller girl grinned and fell into step next to her friend as they made their way into the school. She was intercepted by a group of fellow theatre students asking for her approval on the playlist for the night, and the princess had smiled at her before taking a breath and striding into the gym.</p><p>She scanned the list of hits, and her smile grew as she recognized a song that would be played in just a few minutes.</p><p>“Oh, I love this one!”</p><p>One of her friends grinned.</p><p>“It’s got the best key change of the decade.”</p><p>“I’ll second that,” she said, nodding and handing him the list.</p><p>“By the way, there’s someone in there that was looking for you. He seems familiar, but I can’t put a finger on how I know him.”</p><p>Her eyebrows furrowed.</p><p>“Are you sure he doesn’t go to this school?”</p><p>“I thought it was someone from the choir at first, but this guy seems a lot more confident. He’s wearing sunglasses and a blue jacket; you’ll know him when you see him.”</p><p>A small, knowing smile crossed the musician’s face as she remembered discussing prom outfit ideas with her friend.</p><p>
  <em> A lot more confident? </em>
</p><p>Her mind raced through a million scenarios detailing just how and why he’d be feeling like that tonight, and she quickly shut off the frenzied thoughts.</p><p>
  <em> Just forget about him and have a nice prom night. We’ll just...talk later. </em>
</p><p>She picked up the hem of the teal mess of fabric below her and entered the gym, her eyes immediately landing on a very specific spot.</p><p>
  <em> ...Yeah, that isn’t gonna happen. </em>
</p><p>A figure in pink stood at the edge of the gym, looking up at a figure in blue. She couldn’t quite decipher their words-which was fine with her, this moment was theirs-but their faces held an air of forgiveness. Despite herself, she smiled, barely noticing that a figure had been standing behind her with his eyes locked in the same direction. She turned to recognize the statuesque face of the rich boy that had apparently broken her friend’s heart.</p><p>“...Hello.”</p><p>She blinked, unsure of what to say to him.</p><p>“I came alone, I promise. Do you think...do you think I could talk to her?”</p><p>She looked between her friends and her acquaintance, studying his face for a mark of his true intentions. His brown eyes were apologetic and just as sincere as she’d ever seen them, so she nodded slowly, causing his face to alight in hope and tense up in nervousness, somehow simultaneously. He started making his way toward them, and she grabbed his arm without quite knowing why.</p><p>“Don’t…”</p><p>He smiled.</p><p>“I know. I won’t dare hurt her.”</p><p>She laughed as he continued walking through the gym. After looking around a bit, she decided to follow him, walking a few steps behind.</p><p>The song that had been playing ended, and a timelessly recognizable synthesized beat began. A grin broke out onto the musician’s face, and the room erupted into cheers as “If You Leave” blasted from the speakers.</p><p>She watched as he shook the geek’s hand and said something to the princess, something that immediately gave her face an air of reflection. He kissed her cheek and walked away, apparently having nothing further to say, and the musician stepped further towards them without realizing she’d done so.</p><p>The geek’s back was to her, but she could make out what he was saying, and her smile slowly grew. When the princess hugged him, his arms stayed frozen for a moment of disbelief before wrapping around her without an ounce of selfishness. Tears of an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint once again welled up in the musician’s chest. The princess caught her eye over his shoulder and smiled before letting go, taking a deep breath, and starting on her way toward the boy who’d come alone.</p><p>The taller boy still hadn’t seen her, but she could hear him singing under his breath.</p><p>
  <em> “I won’t let go at any price.” </em>
</p><p>Almost without her knowledge, her legs carried her to his side, and she softly began to sing with him.</p><p>
  <em> “I need you now, like I needed you then.” </em>
</p><p>Startled out of his reverie, he looked down at her for the first time that night and smiled, slightly struck. In that moment, however misinterpreted it may have been-<em> and I might never know </em>-she swore to never forget the look on his face.</p><p>
  <em> “You always said we’d still be friends someday.” </em>
</p><p>She grinned and wiped away a tear, and they both let out choked and relieved laughter.</p><p>“I’m really proud of you.”</p><p>He ducked his head and smiled.</p><p>“Well, you were right.”</p><p>“But you would have done that even if I hadn’t said anything.”</p><p>He looked up, surprised.</p><p>“I highly doubt that. I mean-”</p><p>“Oh, shut up,” she said, smiling and swatting his arm. “You’re a good person, and don’t you forget it.”</p><p>The second verse of the song ended, and the repeated chorus picked up. He could barely keep from bopping his head to the beat, and his sunglasses fell off his nose, straight into his hand. She laughed and began a slow clap of mock applause, to which he over-gallantly bowed with a grin she’d grown to love so dearly.</p><p>“Okay, we can’t waste this good of a song.”</p><p>He smiled in agreement and offered his arm, and her heart only jumped a little bit when she took it. They made their way close to the center of the dance floor and joined the throng of jumping, twirling high schoolers. Everyone in the room allowed themselves to be completely lost in the music, and once the song came to the section just before the key change, the girl’s heart started pounding beyond all hope for a reason she wasn’t quite sure of.</p><p>“The key change is coming up,” the geek shouted over the music.</p><p>She nodded to the beat.</p><p>“It is indeed. One of the best key changes of the decade, I say.”</p><p>
  <em> “I say?” Are you fully incapable of talking like a normal human being? </em>
</p><p>A few more beats passed, and his eyes never left her.</p><p>“I was thinking last night,” he shouted, and stopped dancing to grab her shoulder and look her in the eye. “I can’t believe it’s taken me this long.”</p><p>
  <em> It can’t be. Don’t get your hopes up. Maybe it’s taken him this long to appreciate the key change in the song… </em>
</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>“It’s you.”</p><p>
  <em> “What?” </em>
</p><p>“It’s not a rebound, it’s not to heal my ego, it’s that there were so many stars last night that it made me remember the moment I realized I loved you.”</p><p>The lights flashed, the pulse of the music continued, and he was looking <em> straight at me, this cannot be happening, this has got to be a dream- </em></p><p>“When I-”</p><p>“When you leaned into my shoulder.”</p><p>“Oh, my <em> God.” </em></p><p>Neither of them were sure which one moved forward first, but it didn’t seem to matter; they kissed at the exact moment that the key change of the decade burst through the speakers.</p><p>
  <em> If this were a movie, it would slowly pan up into the end credits… </em>
</p><p>After quite a long time, they pulled away, and she thought that the smile she saw outshone every neon light in the gym. By the look in his eyes, he seemed to be thinking the same thing.</p><p>
  <em> ...but this is real. </em>
</p><p>“It is,” he said with a grin. “I can’t believe it either.”</p><p>“...Did I say that out loud?”</p><p>He nodded with a laugh and pulled her into a twirl.</p><p>
  <em> This is real. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this. was. so much fun to write and I hope yall enjoyed it. I desperately need people to talk about this show with-it's unlikely that many people will read this but I'm actually quite proud of it, feel free to comment if you have any thoughts</p></blockquote></div></div>
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